Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Edi's Lighthouse Chatter: No Jerk But Work

"True, true words Alex.After reading your post I asked myself if I would like to have 1000 followers.My answer is NO. It would definitely overburden me because I'm afraid I cannot give back enough in my available time for the blog."

I definitely know that I can't deliver more than one post per week on a regularly base.Now you will reply why this is the fourth post in 2012?The answer is simple I have had some days off and therefore time to prepare posts.On January 4th I return to work and then my time will be limited.

Since December 28th I posted daily and the blog statistic express a significant change in the number of visitors.

So I know what will happen in near future: Less posts -> less visitors -> less followers. I understand this logic very well and I have to cope with. There is no way out: I need my job and fortunately I have an interesting one. But it is good to see what is possible.

And what did I do in the past two days? Mostly reading! I finished my first book in 2012!Was it one of the books I showed you in the past days? NO

I compared the books on my laptop with the books on our SONY PRS-T1 and I found books which I still have not transferred to the reader. In October 2011 I described how I got an electronic copy of Gabriel's Redemption by Steve Umstead (available in paperback [ISBN-13:978-0765329561] and also for all major e-reader platforms).

"Can a disgraced Special Forces soldier find redemption, and will redemption cost him more than just his own life?North American Federation Navy Commander Evan Gabriel was dishonorably discharged after losing his covert team on a far off world called Eden. Now, he’s being offered an opportunity to command a new team, on a new world, with a new mission, but the true motives behind the mission are unclear.From the decaying Caribbean to politically-charged South America, from the slums of Mars to a tiny colony on a planet six hundred light years from Earth, Gabriel’s Redemption follows the disgraced Commander Gabriel as he leads a Special Forces team to an ice-bound world. Their given mission: to eradicate a drug cartel that is producing a highly-addictive stimulant brutally extracted from the bodies of the native inhabitants. Upon arriving, Gabriel and his team find the mission isn’t exactly what it appeared to be, and that they weren’t the only force dispatched to the planet.Gabriel’s Redemption is a near-future military science fiction story of a personal journey seen from the perspective of a soldier who has lost everything; one who desperately needs to redeem himself not only in his government’s eyes, but also his own. Interstellar action and political intrigue mix with one-on-one battles on the surface of a frozen planet in this exciting tale of salvation." [Source]

I transferred it to our Reader and read it yesterday (January 2nd) in one session. I gave four stars on GOODREADS and wrote:

"This is the first book I read in 2012.Set in a not to far away future, Steve Umstead delivers a believable story centered on Evan Gabriel, an dishonored special forces commander. I liked that the story is embedded into a greater time line.I gave four stars because there have been parts in the book which have been too technical for me.

A full review is in progress. "

You must know that never bothered my to write a review. Therefore and for the following text at the end of the book and because I liked it, I will write a review as soon as possible (depends on what happens in the next few days.)

"An Independent Author's Plea

Did you enjoy Gabriel’s Redemption? Please help support an independent author by leaving a review on the site of your preference (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Sony, Smashwords, etc.) Your Kindle may even have a rating link after this page.

Reviews and comments are worth their weight in gold for authors, and I would love to hear your comments. Thank you, and I hope you are looking forward to Book 2, Gabriel’s Return!

-Steve"

Anyway you should read following post where you get the latest news about the Evan Gabriel Trilogy:

I'd rather have a small readership that interacts and enjoys what I write and review rather than a large "readership" who are only following me because I made following a requirement in a giveaway or something. I do admit to feeling envious of the people whose blogs pull in thousands of readers a day because they put out top-quality work AND somehow still manage to hold down regular full-time jobs. I'm beginning to suspect that time machines are invovled somehow...